I didn't include Galactic Heroes 'cause while the line was rebranded as "Galactic Heroes" in the past year, the Playskool line has been around for a while and just like the Unleashed line has proven its popularity and role in the marketplace. I rarely see Galactic Heroes remain on the pegs for very long.

The existence of Galactic Heroes AND Jedi Force is also puzzling to me - why have two differently scaled lines aimed at the same core audience? Pre-schoolers.

There was really no need for the Jedi Force line, they could have instead invested those development $$$$ into Galactic Heroes vehicles for EPIII.

Who here thinks that the 2" Unleashed, Attacktix, Force Battlers, Jedi Force and the MPire lines will still be around by 2007. I sure as heck don't. I chalk these lines up under the same grouping as EPIC Force and those three 7" Figures that came out in the POTJ line -- attempts at other scales/figure styles that fell flat.

In fact, EPIC Force could be considered the forefather of Unleashed, however, Unleashed has done WAY better at retail than EPIC Force ever dreamed of doing. It's lasted a lot longer and has given us some really top notch display pieces. I for one, am torn on the loss of Unleashed 'cause (a) it means I won't get any more pieces for my Unleashed collection and (b) it means there will be one less line I have to buy - much like with the death of the 12" line. Hasbro is really starting to save me some money. My collecting will be reduced to the 3.75" line and that's it. My romance with Attacktix has also ended and I don't plan on buying the Collection 2 figures even if they do make it to retail.

So thanks Hasbro - your decisions are saving me money!

Logged

Peter

Letting my collecting OCD get the better of me on a DAILY basis... and loving EVERY minute of it!

Who here thinks that the 2" Unleashed, Attacktix, Force Battlers, Jedi Force and the MPire lines will still be around by 2007.

Honestly, I think that all of those lines will be defunct by the end of March 2006. The shrinking of the Unleashed line is a horrible idea, and I'd be surprised if more than one assortment of the 2" line (if it goes ahead that way) makes it to retail before it bombs and WM/TRU/Target won't order any more.

Attacktix is already dead in the water, and the second assortment is just going to be one of those "blink and you miss it" assortments, since retail probably won't order as many of these as Hasbro would like.

Force Battlers, despite Hasbro's beliefs to the contrary, isn't selling well at all, and I'd be very surprised if WM and Target even keep it in their planograms this fall. If the third wave makes it to retail, it will be amazing, and if the fourth wave (with Palpatine and Yoda) makes it, it'll be a miracle. Even though the line was really DOA, it will have its last gasp by the end of the year.

Jedi Force, like Force Battlers, is dead. When Yoda and Vader become pegwarmers in any line, you know there is little to no fan interest in the concept. The Jedi Force toys as a whole have more dust per square inch sitting on them at every retailer I go into than any other toy in the "Big Kids" aisle. I would be willing to bet that, once the Boga is finally released, that will be the final Jedi Force toy to hit the market.

And Pete, I agree with you 100% that Hasbro should stop spending money trying to come up with new ways to fail now that the SW movie era is over, and stick to what works, and try to do that well instead of haphazardly.

Matt. get loud about Unleashed. The line deserves the volume you can generate.

Here are some of the character ideas I came up with in an effort to give Hasbro some Unleashed food for thought. I even came up with an idea for 2-packs that would probably sell for $24.99 or so. Anyway, here are the Unleashed figure ideas:

About a year or so ago, I opened a thread somewhere here or at Scum, and was thinking that it would be cool to have the Unleashed go in the 3-3/4" direction...

I really thought that some sort of 2-pks priced at the $15.00-$20.00 range would be awesome. Each one would have a cool unique base to display them on... the figures themselves would have limited articulation similar to the current Unleashed line...

Also, each movie would have one large scene (almost a playset!) - something around the $40.00-$50.00 range that was a pivotal moment in that particular film.